Gravity Falls - What's In A Name (A Dipper x Smabble fanfic)
by spywi
Summary: Because a certain couple of somebodies got me super excited about a certain background character, I figured it was time to try my hand at writing how I imagine her character. If you don't know who she is, I suggest searching up "Shmipper and Smabble" The names I chose aren't canon; this is how I imagined Smabble's and Dipper's real names to be. Also, this fic is Dipper x Smabble
1. Chapter 1

_Gravity Falls – What's In A Name (A Dipper x Smabble fanfic)_

* * *

 _Because a certain couple of somebodies got me super excited about a certain background character, I figured it was time to try my hand at writing how I imagine her character. If you don't know who she is, I suggest searching up "Shmipper and Smabble" The names I chose aren't canon; this is how I imagined Smabble's and Dipper's real names to be. Also, this fic is Dipper x Smabble and set sometime when Dipper is in his late twenties and has a job as an investigative reporter. Told semi from Smabble's point of view. (Also I pronounce Smabble the same way you pronounce Mabel)_

* * *

"Welcome! Do you have an appointment?" asked the secretary, typing away on a keyboard, a Bluetooth device attached to her ear. She looked up at the young woman, who was nervously rocking back and forth on her heels, clutching a blue purse and a manila envelope.

"Um y-yes, I'm here for the interview -"

"Take a seat please, they'll call you when they're ready to see you," said the secretary, before turning away and answering a call on her earpiece. "Hello, you've reached the office of -"

Smabble hesitantly sat down on the padded seat near the wall. The office was bustling with activity, people sitting at computers answering phones, editing articles or researching different Internet trends. The constant chatter of people made her all the more nervous, so to calm herself she pulled her application out of the envelope, poring over each section to make sure that she had filled out everything correctly.

* * *

Smabble was applying as an intern for the office of Shabazz publication, an all-around publishing company with outlets in everything from magazines to newspapers to websites. She always loved writing; she was the top of her class in her advanced writing course, and her professor even wrote her recommendation letter and secured her an interview to intern for the top investigative journalist of this decade, who went by the moniker "Douglas Pines." She had read his impressive span of articles, which included everything from uncovering the supernatural to secret psychological tricks to improve memory, to hidden cryptic messages and ciphers, to the occasional arts and crafts or music articles. She liked the meaning behind his pseudonym, as "Douglas" was a name associated with people who were excellent at analyzing, understanding and learning, and are known to be quiet and introspective. Plus, pairing it with "Pines" made this name a good match, and a pun on its own.

 _Pines,_ she thought to herself. _That sounds like him . . ._

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone calling out to her.

"They're ready for you, hun. Take the first door on the left and go right down the hallway; the door you're looking for has his name on it," said the secretary.

"Um, t-thank you, ma'am!" said Smabble a little too loudly out of nervousness. She stood up, and followed the secretary's instructions. She stood outside the door, fist raised, almost too anxious to knock. Her brain went into overdrive in stressful situations, and this was no exception.

 _What if he doesn't think I'm good enough? What if he's mean and rude and won't want to see my portfolio? Ohmygosh, what if he's like this weird gross pervert and he'll try and make a move on me?! Oh, why did I choose to wear a short skirt today? This was the only clean one that I had and I didn't want to be wearing dress pants . . . wait, what if . . . what if he DOES hire me? What happens if they hire me and then I do a terrible job and they fire me? Oh no . . ._

Her thoughts were cut short by the door suddenly opening, and a man's head poked around the door frame.

"I can see your shadow in the windowpane, so if you need something then what-" The man's mouth stopped mid-sentence, dropping into a perfect O shape. Smabble's face mirrored his expression, shocked at who she was staring at.

Dipper Pines reached up and fixed his glasses, which had gone askew on his face. He stepped out into the hallway, brown hair a tousled mess. Smabble could only stare in amazed silence, as the boy she had only seen here and there around Gravity Falls was apparently also the most famous journalist in the state.

" _Smabble?_ Wait, wait, wait, _you're_ the person applying for the internship?"Dipper said finally, reaching up to poke her cheek to verify that she was real.

" _Dipper_ Pines?! _You're_ Douglas Pines, of all people? What is going on?" said Smabble, equally surprised.

Dipper gestured for her to enter, and the two of them entered Douglas – um, _Dipper's_ office. Smabble sat down in the chair in front of the desk, which was filled about a foot high with stacks of paper, a laptop, and several paper cups which she assumed had held coffee. Dipper moved these stacks onto the floor and sat down in the rolling chair, facing the now-smiling Smabble.

"Geez, what's it been, like ten years? How have you been?" he asked.

"It's been good, I'm going for my degree in journalism, and my professor got me this interview, and I was so excited, because it's the famous _Douglas Pines_ and I had no clue that it was you, I mean you – I mean, he, I mean, you're _this_ famous since I've last seen you, and . . ." she trailed off, noticing that Dipper was staring at her. He was smiling.

"I . . . I'm rambling again, aren't I?" she asked tentatively.

"Mmhm," Dipper replied, nodding. Smabble put her hands to her face, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing through her freckles.

"I-Is my face red?" she asked, knowing what the answer already was.

"Definitely red," he said. Her ears were the reddest part of her face, and she hid her face completely with her hands, thoroughly embarrassed.

* * *

Dipper and Mabel had been visiting Gravity Falls, Oregon every summer, and every now and then the Pines twins would come across another set of twins, known to the town as "Shmipper and Smabble," which they thought was really cute seeing as it rhymed with their own names. From then on, they made it a point to hang out at least once every other week when the Pines came to town, whether it was doing a joint fishing trip with the Pines twins' great uncle and their grandpa, or exploring the woods, or eating out at the local restaurants. However, somewhere along the line, Smabble started noticing how Dipper was becoming more and more handsome as the years went by. Maybe it was the shock of not seeing him for an entire school year, as each time she saw him, he had grown so much more rugged, somehow a little taller each time, and it was torture on the poor girl, where there weren't many boys anywhere near her age that she liked as much.

Dipper and Mabel were extremely smart for their age, in more ways than just smarts, and they graduated from high school and eventually college much earlier than most people. Eventually, the visits turned to the occasional text message or the occasional letter, until Dipper had basically dropped from the face of the earth. Mabel owned several successful modern art museums, and was making a fortune creating and selling all sorts of things around Paris. Smabble had always wondered what happened to Dipper, and now . . .

* * *

"You look good, Smabble. You look all business-like and stuff," Dipper noted, as he had been used to seeing her with her hair down, her bangs pinned to the side with a little hair clip.

"Are you kidding me? I look like a stiff assistant. You look all messy, but you somehow look older," Smabble responded. In her head, she thought: _His hair's all messy and tangled and the glasses make him look much manlier than the last time I . . . ahhh! What am I thinking?!_

"It's probably the glasses, they're the same kind of frames as one of my uncles. Mabel always teases me about it, says I look even more like a nerd than usual."

"No, no! You look so handsome! Oh, wait, ignore that I said that! Please please please ignore that please!" Smabble waved her hands in front of her, in an attempt to wave away the thought that had somehow escaped her lips. Dipper chuckled. Smabble always got flustered like this. It's cute.

"Heh heh. Okay, well, anyways, let's get the interview out of the way, and then I'll treat you to some coffee or something."

"Oh, um, okay, then."

"Great, it's a date, then! Okay, let me find your file . . ." murmured Dipper, rummaging through the piles of paper that he had just moved to the floor. Meanwhile, Smabble all but shut down all mental processes at the word "date."

"Aha! Here we go! Okay, then, where were we . . . _oi,_ Smabble! Anybody home in there?" Dipper called out, waving a hand in front of Smabble's unfocused eyes. She jumped in her seat, realizing that she had lost focus. She had gone into this interview hoping to look professional and somewhat in control of her life, but one look at Dipper's face, and she immediately forgets that reality exists.

Dipper looked over Smabble's information that was faxed over by the secretary earlier. The interview questions went by a lot smoother than he thought. He thought that it was tiresome that he was being put on interview duty this week, but seeing an old friend around the office put him in a much better mood. It's been a long time since he felt this motivated to do something like this.

"Hey," Dipper said, looking over the papers. "I know that we put your name as 'Smabble' in the initial application, but we need to put your full name on the actual form. You know, tax reasons and all that jazz."

"Oh . . . um . . ." Smabble said quietly, looking at her knees to avoid Dipper's gaze.

"You know, in all my years of knowing you, I don't think I've ever found out what your real name actually was."

"You don't want to know . . . I don't really like it, so I've been going by my nickname all my life . . ."

"Hey, trust me, I know the feeling. You think I could go around publishing papers under the name 'Dipper?' Nope, had to use my real name for that one."

"Wait . . ."

"Yes, Douglas is my first name. Supposed to be attributed to being a leader, which apparently I had this weird thing as an elementary school kid where I wanted to be in charge of everything, including my own life. Yeah, only reason I never turned out as a control-freak brat is because Mabel kept me grounded. Enough about me though, let's hear that name then!"

He leaned forward, eyes sparkling. Those same curious eyes, mirroring his twin sister's eyes, gazed intently at her, as if piercing her soul

"Just . . . just don't laugh, please?" Smabble asked, looking up at him, looking for all the world like a begging puppy.

"Can't say no to those eyes, can I?"

"Fiiine . . ."

She took a deep breath, and with an air of slight distaste, she said slowly:

"Susanna May Belle Cedar," and then immediately hid her eyes in her hands, peeking through her fingers at him. Dipper smiled, writing that down on the form, and then making a mental note to remember every letter of that name.

"I like it."

"You're lying . . ."

"I love it! I really do! It's cute. What's the name 'Susanna' mean, anyways?" Dipper asked.

"It's supposed to mean 'graceful lily,' but truth be told, right now I feel like less of a graceful anything and more like an embarrassed rambling potato."

"Hey," said Dipper, causing her to look up at him. He was giving her a comforting smile, something that immediately set her mind at ease.

"I like your name. It's pretty, and cute, and 'graceful lily' suits you. When we first met, that was my first impression of you: that you were all calm and collected. It was when I found out that you overthink things and tend to ramble about this story and that story that I came to realize that you were a person that I wanted to be around all the time."

"You're . . . not lying, are you?" said Smabble, emerging from behind her hands.

"Would I ever lie to you?"

"Actually, yes, you have in fact lied to me about having never being kissed, and -"

"H-Hey! One, that merman doesn't count. Two, Mabel can't help but tell the truth just to tease me, and three, we were all playing truth or dare, so how was I supposed to . . ."

"Well, you _did_ pick truth, and I _did_ ask you if you've ever kissed anyone before, plus I never specified if it was a girl, boy, or human," giggled Smabble, her embarrassment all but gone completely. "Your reaction was pretty adorable, too."

Dipper paused, looking at her giggling in her chair, and smiled once more. It's almost as if time had never even passed. They were still teenagers, all hanging out in the attic of the Mystery Shack for a twin sleepover, chatting the night away and teasing and laughing with one another. Almost makes him nostalgic for that old attic, with its drafts and splinters and creaking floorboards.

"Well, that took long enough," he said finally, chuckling as he wrote down the last bit of information. "Congrats, _Susanna May Belle Cedar,_ I do believe that you've got the job."

"Okay, now that's just cruel, _Douglas._ Haha. Hey, wait . . . _already?!_ But that was just the interview, what the heck?" she said, shocked.

"You're the only one that actually applied for the position, we've been waiting all week and you're the first one to apply. Which is great for you, because we need all the help we can take. So, like I said, congrats," Dipper held out his hand, which Smabble graciously took. That hand, still that same rough texture from so long ago. It was bigger than her own hand now, but it was still the same hand, the same Dipper that she had fallen for so many years ago.

And then the handshake was broken, and Smabble was once again jolted into reality. Dipper stood up from his desk, stretched, and pulled out his cell phone.

"Well, I'm done for the morning, anyways. Don't have too much going on, and Mabel still hasn't called me from Paris yet, so I'm assuming that she's still asleep. So," he said, looking up from the screen. "Still on for that date?"

" _Date?_ Wait, oh, um, I thought it was just coffee?" Smabble started fumbling with her words again.

"Oh, my bad, if you're seeing somebody right now, you don't gotta . . ."

" _NO!_ Whoops, sorry, that came out a bit loud . . . *ahem* no, I'm not dating anyone at the moment."

"Good, means that I won't have a jealous guy coming after my hide after I take you, the _lovely Susanna,_ out for coffee, then?"

"I mean, I _could_ sic my brother on you. After all, he's veeeery protective of his sister," she said, winking at him. The two of them burst out laughing.

"Oh, man, definitely need to watch out for him. Alrighty then, shall we?" he asked, gesturing out the door.

"Yes, we shall," she said, playfully bumping into his shoulder like they used to do back then. "We have so much to talk about and catch up on."

"Yeah, we do," Dipper responded. As they stepped out into the afternoon light, Dipper looked at Smabble, and their eyes met.

"Whatcha thinking about there, Smabble?" he asked her, noticing that she had gone silent.

"Wha? Um, nothing! Nothing worth mentioning."

"Seems like something to me."

"Ugh, you always have to be the super-analytical one in this friendship, don't you?" she said in fake disgust, before giggling.

"Says the girl that was standing outside my door for the longest time. Now I know that it was you, I'm pretty sure that you were overthinking things again."

"Your face is overthinking!" she retorted.

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Your face doesn't make sense," she said, before going red again. She put her hands up to her cheeks.

"Is my face still red?"

Dipper smiled at her.

"Yup," he said. "Still red."


	2. Chapter 2

_Gravity Falls - What's In A Name (A Dipper x Smabble fanfic) – Ch2_

* * *

 _New chapter, new piece of fluff. First date? I believe so. ^~^ let's jump right on in to a new chapter filled with sweetness and just plain adorable Dipper and Smabble shenanigans._

 _[This is a beast of a chapter, as I was really really inspired to keep writing for some reason, and it's only within one setting. Word count: 3539 words]_

* * *

"Are you sure this place is fine?" Dipper asked, looking through the shop window. Smabble shrugged, not exactly one for going out for coffee. She was more of a tea person herself, but seeing as it was Dipper asking, she was more than happy to tag along.

"Beats me. You're the one that asked me out, genius."

"Hey, I'm just wondering. You were always a bit picky growing up."

"I was _not!_ C'mon, I wasn't the picky one, that as Shmipper. He still hates pineapples on his pizza to this day," said Smabble.

"Seriously? Still? C'mon, pineapple is awesome."

"I agree with you on that, but he can't help it, he just doesn't think fruits belong together with pizza."

"His choice, I happen to enjoy pineapples, just not in large quantities."

"Ooh, _someone's_ trying to make a move on me, aren't you?" said Smabble, putting on her best flirty face while still acting sarcastic. Dipper chuckled.

"Well, well, well, what exactly are you implying?" Dipper responded, facing her, raising an eyebrow. Smabble went red in the face again. Okay, so maybe she wasn't gonna win this battle.

"N-Nothing, I'm implying nothing," she finally said, breaking eye contact.

"Seeing as I know exactly what you're referring to with the pineapples, where exactly did you happen to have come across that fact? Hmm? _Someone's_ been looking up stuff in the dead of night in places they shouldn't have been? What happened to the innocent Smabble that I once knew?" said Dipper, poking her shoulder in a teasing fashion.

Smabble put her hands to her face again.

"I'm losing my innocence just being around you . . ." she wailed, shaking her head back and forth. Dipper snorted, then pulled the door open.

"Well, if we're gonna chat this way, at least let's chat where it's warmer than out here. Sound good?"

Smabble nodded, then they both entered the café. The smell of roasted hazelnut and chocolate filled the air, accompanied by a sudden wave of warmth. Outside, the air had gotten pretty chilly as the sun was just about to set, but inside it was nice and toasty, accompanied by the chatter of customers and the occasional snatch of music playing from the overhead speakers.

They got in line, brushing shoulders every now and then as the queue shuffled forward. Smabble was determined to avoid eye contact with Dipper until she felt her face was less flushed, but she couldn't help but steal a glance here and there. Dipper was staring intently at the menu board, apparently fixated on the colorful sign depicting the newest holiday concoction. Smabble squinted to read the sign. Apparently the café was featuring a new type of cotton candy flavored drink mixed with cinnamon and honey.

"Should I get that one?" Dipper asked.

"Too much sugar for me, how exactly are you supposed to drink that without losing your teeth in one go?" she responded.

"Simple, you use a straw."

"How exactly does that help?"

"Doesn't hit your teeth going down," Dipper said, giving a smug grin in her direction.

"Good luck choking, then," Smabble retorted, eliciting a snicker from the couple behind them. Smabble's face, which she had just managed to calm down from bright red to a soft pink, went back to feeling as if it was on fire, and remained silent, much to Dipper's amusement.

* * *

Finally, it was their turn to order. Smabble had been so focused on not embarrassing herself further that she had forgotten to choose a drink. When the barista asked her what she wanted, she nervously scanned the board, trying to settle on a drink without holding up the line.

"Um, um . . . ah . . . I . . ."

"She'll have the honey lemon tea, small teapot please."

"Dipper!"

"What? It's your favorite, right? Ever since your grandpa had us over on that sleepover back at your place?"

"I . . . yeah, how'd you remember? I only asked for it once around you."

"I have a good memory."

The two of them went over to a corner booth, waiting for their drinks to arrive.

"Tell me, then, if you're so good with memory, what was the first thing you said to me after you and I first met?"

"Simple, first thing I said was 'I'm sorry,' seeing as you and Shmipper turned the corner and bumped into me and Mabel, and we all fell over."

"True. What was I wearing?"

"Brown top, long skirt, hair up in . . . a ponytail?" mused Dipper, having had to actually think it over for that one. Smabble giggled.

"Close, but, not quite. My top was actually gray, genius."

"Oh, real funny. Okay fine, you got me there."

* * *

Their conversation died down after a few minutes, the both of them humming along to the tune that was now playing over the speakers. A few seconds into the final chorus, their drinks were finally brought to their table. Dipper's cup was an explosion of whipped cream, several layers of syrup and honey, and dusted over with cinnamon. Smabble's tea came in a clear little teapot with enough tea for two people. The teapot was being held on a little stand that housed a little tealight candle, which gently warmed her tea from underneath. Smabble's eyes sparkled as she stared at this curious new sight. She had never seen anything so cute.

"It's just tea, what's the holdup?" asked Dipper, taking a sip of his coffee and immediately coughing.

"Haha, that's why, dork. Plus, I _need_ to take a picture of this and send it to my friends, they've probably never seen anything like this back home!" She pulled out her cell phone, snapping a few pics of the little tea set with various filters, and then turning the camera onto Dipper, who was in the process of licking some of the whipped cream off the edge of his cup, looked up just in time to see the camera flash in his face.

"H-Hey! Delete that!"

"Nope, not gonna," she said, quickly tapping her phone and showing him the finished product. She had quickly added a swirly frame and lots of emoticons and hearts to the picture of him. His face, a look of confusion, whipped cream on his nose, one eye half shut.

"Are the hearts really necessary?" Dipper asked, using his hand to wipe the cream off his nose.

"Nope, but it makes you much _prettier_ , Dipper," Smabble said with a wink. She set it as her phone wallpaper and showed Dipper, who smirked. He pulled out his phone.

"Fine, if you're set on making _that_ your wallpaper, least you could do is let me take one of you."

"Fair enough, but gimme a second . . . I wanna . . . try out this tea . . . first," she said, struggling to use both hands to try and pour herself a cup of tea. Dipper reached out and helped her steady her hands, and soon she was blowing into the cup to cool down the burning liquid.

"Here goes," Smabble declared, raising the cup to her lips. The drink was heavenly, the perfect combination of tea, lemon and honey, and went down her throat smoothly. She could feel her entire body warming up as it hit her stomach, and she let out a breath, suddenly feeling very warm and cheerful.

"Ahh, that tastes amazing!"

Dipper snapped a photo then, smiling along with her. The photo of her showed her face, just radiating pure happiness and satisfaction, with perfect rosy cheeks full of freckles.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, had to take that opportunity. Does it really taste that good?" asked Dipper, slightly curious. "May I?"

"Go for it, dude!" she said happily, offering the spare cup out to him. He instead reached for her own cup, blowing on it a little before raising it to his own lips.

Smabble couldn't help but notice that where he had placed his mouth was exactly the spot where she had taken a sip from moments ago. Her face, already flushed from the heat of the shop and the heat of the tea, went even redder, and she had to grip her side of the table to make sure she didn't fall over.

"Oh, wow, this is really good! Makes me kind of regret getting this mess of sugar and cream. This would be really awesome to drink on a rainy day."

"Haha, yeah," said Smabble, attempting to project a face that wasn't about to faint from seeing Dipper's indirect kiss with her through her tea cup.

"You okay?"

Smabble started, realizing that she wasn't hiding it as well as she had hoped. _Sarcasm, sarcasm and teasing is definitely my way out!_

"Well, well, Dipper Pines, if I had known that you'd be so forward as to take my first kiss from me this way, I would have worn better lipstick," she said, attempting another shot at play-flirting. She got the reaction she wanted, as Dipper for once went red in the face.

"Wha-Wha-What are you referring to?" he said, nervously setting the teacup down on the table. Smabble looked down at the teacup, and then back at Dipper, who finally put two and two together.

"Oh, oh! You mean, I mean . . . that was . . ."

"Ya-know, indirect kisses are a very big deal in certain countries, so by their standards, you may have just taken my first kiss from me, buster," Smabble continued, pleased with how she was handling the situation.

"Y-Yeah right, I'm sure that you've kissed lots of boys by now," said Dipper, unsure of how to process where this conversation was going.

"Oh, please, what do you take me for, some kind of heartbreaker? There aren't many boys my age that I was into, nor were there many that were into me, and the only one I did like was someone older than me."

"And this guy . . .?"

"Nope, never got to kiss him either."

"Oh, I see . . ." Dipper went back to his own cup, taking big gulps in an attempt to drown out his nervousness with sugar.

Smabble giggled. _God, why does this dork have to be so adorable?_

Snatching his phone from the table, Smabble hit the home button on Dipper's phone.

"You already set it as your wallpaper?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's not like I can do much editing from my phone anyways. Plus, you look nice here."

"No I don't, I'm a potato . . ." Smabble said, looking dejected.

"Well then you're the cutest potato I've ever seen."

Smabble smiled, then proceeded to grab Dipper's cup, taking a small swig of it and immediately inhaling some cinnamon. She started coughing, and took a sip of her now-cooled tea to clear her throat. Dipper looked worried, but Smabble waved her hand, indicating that she was fine. After her eyes stopped watering, she sat up straight and took a deep breath.

"Hah, well . . . remind me never to get this drink _ever,_ " she said, wiping her lips with a napkin.

Dipper gave her a worried smile. Smabble looked at him.

"What? I'm fine, Dipper, why do you - *cough* - look so worried?"

"Just . . . just making sure. I mean, I don't want to have to be the one responsible for your death," he replied, earning him a prod in the shin from Smabble's foot.

"Jerk. Just when I was just starting to like you again."

"What'd I do?"

Smabble looked away, pouting in an over-exaggerated way before she looked back at him. His eyes showed genuine worry for her. _Okay, maybe I've been taking the teasing a little bit too far this time around. It is the first time we've seen each other in a long time._

Smabble put her hand on top of Dipper's.

"I'm fine, honestly. Don't start crying on my behalf, okay?" she said, smiling up at him. Dipper smiled back, then flipped his hand over, giving hers a gentle squeeze.

"If you say so, then I'll believe you," he said. Smabble squeezed back, then let go and sat up straight.

"You better, otherwise I _will_ sic my brother on your ass."

"Oh real mature. His real name means, um what exactly?"

"Shawn Michael Percival Cedar; 'Shawn' being an Irish name and meaning 'God is gracious' or 'gift from God' or whatever, but trust me when I say that when anything, and I mean _anything_ bad happens to me, he will not hesitate to go all out just to protect me, whether it's a boy teasing me, or even the biggest monster in the woods threatening us. I'm his twin sister, after all, so he'll do what it takes to make sure I'm safe."

"Sounds like me and Mabel. Back in Gravity Falls, I would do anything to make sure her crushes wouldn't break her heart, and then I made sure that no monsters would ever come near her or hurt her. I guess, I just feel like I don't want to lose her, because we've been through so much together, that it'd kill me if she ever got hurt."

"See? It's a brother thing."

"I guess . . ."

* * *

Time flew by without either of them realizing. They were approached by one of the workers who informed them that they were the last ones in the café and that they were closing up for the night. They downed the last of their drinks and stepped outside. The wind had picked up, pulling at their clothes and hair. Smabble regretted wearing a short skirt to the interview, and rubbed her hands together in an attempt to warm them up.

"Here," said Dipper, offering his coat to her.

"N-N-No, its fine, I c-can manage without it. I'm . . . not cold! Yeah, that's it, I'm not cold! No, sir, I'm not cold at all."

"I can see your teeth chattering, and you're shivering. C'mon, it's fine. I wore a lot of layers today anyways, it's fine."

"Well then . . ." she said, but Dipper was already draping his coat over her shoulders. It was a lot bigger than she had anticipated, and draped down a little around her knees. She immediately went red, though it wasn't from the sudden warmth of his jacket blocking the wind. _Yup, this is happening, this is definitely happening, this is absolutely happening! Okay, get a grip, Smabble._

"C'mon, let's get to the car already. I'll drive you home. You walked to the office today, right?"

"Um, y-yeah," Smabble managed to sputter out, still shivering slightly.

"Great, I'll drive you home."

The car ride was mostly silent. Dipper kept his eyes on the road, so Smabble was left to stew in her own thoughts, quietly processing the events that happened today.

 _Okay, so today wasn't how I expected. I walked into an interview, and my interviewer just so happened to be the famous Douglas Pines who turned out to be Dipper Pines, who then gave me the job almost immediately, who then asked me out for coffee, but I got tea in the end, and then I teased him about not choking and the I was the one who ended up choking, and now I'm in his car and I'm wearing his jacket, and I'm . . ._

"You okay? You haven't said much in a bit," said Dipper, finally glancing at her.

"I-I'm fine. Um, park right here, my apartment is the one right there."

Dipper pulled up to the side of a set of apartments. He didn't say it out loud, but his place was technically just around the block.

"You live alone?"

"Yeah, Shmipper's up in Oregon taking care of our grandpa, and I'm out here for school and work. Doesn't look pretty from the outside but it's pretty cozy inside, and the rent's cheap."

"Gotcha. Well, stay safe, 'kay? Don't go catching a cold and missing your first day on the job next week, 'new intern'," Dipper said, smirking.

"Dream on, admit it, you just can't wait to start bossing me around the office. Don't abuse your power as my boss, _Douglas_ ," Smabble said, smiling back. She reached up to take off Dipper's coat and return it to him, but he held up his hand.

"No need, I'm not going that far anyways. Keep it for now, just make sure you wash it and get it back to me at the office, okay?"

"Oh, well then . . ." said Smabble, for once without a snappy comeback. "Thank you. And thank you for today. It was fun catching up, and going out for coffee and such . . . I mean, um . . . yeah . . ."

"Yup. No problem. Best date ever, am I right?"

Smabble was silent, then said,

". . . well, technically that was my . . . first date ever . . ."

"Seriously?"

"Don't laugh at me, I mean, I'm not the prettiest girl around, and I do tend to make a lot of comebacks and sass people on occasion, and I tend to get embarrassed a lot, and my face gets red often, and I ramble for a long time, so it just inconveniences people . . ."

"Kind of like how you're rambling now?"

"Shut up," she said, before they both began laughing. They went silent for a moment, not meeting each other's eyes. Smabble was the one who broke the tension first.

"I'll admit, it wasn't what I expected for a first date – well, any date, really. But it was nice, and I'm glad it was with you, Dipper."

She couldn't help it. She had been wanting to do this all those years back in Gravity Falls, all those times they had been near each other in the twin sleepovers, all those times that they had been alone together on random hangouts.

She leaned over, attempting to kiss his cheek. She didn't know what possessed her to go for it, but there she was, leaning in, heart racing a million miles per hour, when suddenly . . .

He turned his head. It wasn't that much of a turn, but just enough for her lips to catch the corner of his own. Realizing what had just happened, Smabble pulled back so suddenly that she almost whacked her head into the window. Dipper's face, half-shrouded in the darkness, held a look of simultaneous confusion and happiness.

"I-I-I-I . . ." Smabble's brain had all but shut down, and she simply couldn't find the words to even begin to describe what had just happened.

"Well, took you long enough," said Dipper. He raised his hand to her face, his fingers making their way into her hair, and gently pulled her face closer to his. Dipper's lips brushed over Smabble's softly at first, and then their lips fully connected. Smabble's lips parted, applying more pressure against Dipper's mouth, closing her eyes as the taste of cinnamon and coffee filled her senses. They continued kissing in silence, the only sound that could be heard was the quiet smacking sounds their lips made. Smabble was in heaven, feeling a wave of utter bliss roll through her entire being. Each connection of their lips, each soft breath, each slight moan that would escape her lungs – a sound that she never thought she would ever make in her life, all blended together within this moment. After an eternity, Dipper finally pulled back, with Smabble leaning forward slightly as if she didn't want it to end so suddenly. She opened her eyes, staring through hazy eyes at the man who had she had just experienced her first kiss with.

"I . . . I . . . um . . . ah . . ."

"Yeah, me too," said Dipper, slightly breathless himself. Smabble fumbled for the door handle.

"I'll . . . um . . . be heading home now . . . s-see you . . . next week?" she stammered, brain still slowly catching up to her body.

"W-Will do," said Dipper.

"Thank you," said Smabble, having successfully opened the car door on her third attempt. "I'll . . . er . . . goodnight."

"Goodnight, Smabble."

Closing the door gently behind her, Smabble tottered her way up the steps to the front door. Hearing the car engine start, she turned and watched as Dipper drove down the street and around the corner, the light from his headlights fading into the night. Satisfied that he was a safe distance away, Smabble ran into her apartment, went straight for her bed, grabbed a pillow and then proceeded to scream into the pillow. This went on for a good minute or so before she realized she needed to come back up for air. Rolling around on her bed, she silently screamed, feeling her face, touching her lips, replaying the scene in her mind over and over and over again until she was sure she had it memorized. And over and over again, she kept repeating to herself,

 _OH MY GOD I JUST KISSED DIPPER PINES! THIS WAS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Gravity Falls - What's In A Name (A Dipper x Smabble fanfic) – Ch3_

* * *

 _This went through several rewrites in my head before I actually started typing this, but here ya go! New chapter, new fun xD, new fluff, new adventure. ONWARDS!_

* * *

"Sorry, but I can't join you guys tonight," said a girl in a messy ponytail. Her outfit followed a similar theme to her hair, as today her usual skirt and blazer was replaced by a simple T-shirt and jeans.

"Aw, c'mon, Sue, don't be like that," said the other female intern. Smabble kept herself from scrunching her nose; she didn't like being called "Sue." She forced a smile and explained,

"Sorry, Alice, but I have plans tonight."

"Ooh, you never told me. What's the guy like?"

"I didn't . . ."

"You don't have to, I can tell that you have soma certain special someone in your life," said Alice, visibly more excited about this thought than Smabble was at the moment. _Drat, why did Alice have to be so darn perceptive about these things? Better find a cover story, and fast . . ._

"Sooooo . . ." Alice thought for a bit, then said, "I'm guessing it's someone . . . from the office?" Smabble flinched a little, something that Alice picked up on immediately.

"A-ha! Ooh, scandalous! Office romances, I like it! Is it Joe from accounting? I swear the guy is sooo dreamy, and he can do his own taxes. So hot."

"I do my own taxes too, you know . . ." said Smabble quietly, but Alice ignored her.

"Ooh, what about Derrick, that one intern with the goatee? No? How about that Australian hunk that works upstairs? Oh GOD I'd do anything to play his didgeridoo." Alice whispered that last sentence, then started giggling at her own analogy. Slightly weirded out, Smabble silently prayed that Alice didn't mention –

"Douglas. Pines. Oh, my GOD, what about HIM? I mean, you intern in his department, after all. He's so . . . mysterious, and smart, but he keeps to himself a lot, so not many people know his backstory," said Alice, proceeding to go through a list of why all the female interns had the hots for the great Douglas Pines. Smabble just sat there, hoping that her face wasn't giving anything away, but with Alice describing in detail all the attractive aspects of "Douglas," her face would have turned red anyways. Thankfully, Alice was too engrossed in her own storytelling to notice.

* * *

It had been about three weeks since Smabble had started her internship at the Shabazz publication offices, and she was having the time of her life. Sure, 80% of her current job was fetching coffee or running errands for the various writers around the office, but she didn't mind. The things she learned here and there from those people, even just small tips or tricks of the trade, helped her greatly when she had her own writing assignments to fulfill. Dipper gave her the same amount of work as the rest of the interns, including publishing small blog posts or articles, or working collaboratively on certain projects with other interns. And she definitely worked her hardest, no matter how small the task. The other upper-level employees were starting to see her around the office and recognize her, and a few would even greet her by name. Yup, she was definitely having fun working here.

Of course, being able to date Dipper Pines was definitely not on her list of expectations when she applied for this job. Sure, she imagined having a crush on some cute guy in the next cubicle, but to end up dating the most famous investigative journalist in the United States, let alone her childhood crush? Did _NOT_ see that one coming.

"So, is it him?!" said Alice suddenly, causing Smabble to jump. She had zoned out again, totally forgetting about her rambling friend next to her.

"Um . . . wha-?"

"Doug-las-Pines!" Alice said, leaning in and enunciating each syllable. Smabble prayed for dear life that her face wouldn't go red right at this moment.

"N-No! C'mon, he's . . . he's super top-level here, no way he'd notice someone like me . . ."

"Listen to me," said Alice. "You are beautiful - hey, don't scoff at me, girl. You're smart, you're hardworking, you look freaking _hot_ on those days you come in to work with full-makeup and stuff. If you tried, I'm sure you'll have him drooling over you in a snap!"

"It's not Douglas, okay Alice? I'm . . . I'm meeting up with an old childhood friend of mine. His name's . . . Dipper," she said tentatively. _Well, it was sort of true, in a sense._

"Dipp - what? What kind of a name is 'Dipper'? Did his parents, like, lose a bet, or . . .?"

"No, no, no. It's just what we called him back then, like a nickname."

"Oooh, I see. Well, I gotta get back to work, good luck with you date!" said Alice, scurrying off to her desk. Smabble sighed, then headed towards the vending machine in the break room. Hopefully munching on some candy would calm her nerves. She got to the empty room and carefully scanned the items in the machine, settling for a Hershey's Cookies & Crème chocolate bar.

"You're gonna get cavities from eating too much of those, you know," said a voice behind her. Smabble spun around, only to come face to face with Dipper.

"H-Hey! Um, wha-what're you doing here?" Smabble said nervously, using a hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I work here, obviously," said Dipper sarcastically. Smabble frowned, and poked him in the side, and he flinched, a gasp escaping his mouth.

"Ow, okay, you seriously need to stop doing that."

"Nope," she said in reply, turning to punch in the code for the vending machine. Her candy fell from its holder with a _thunk_ , and she pulled it out of the slot, waving it in his face.

"Cavities or no, a girl's gotta have her chocolate," Smabble said. Dipper smiled, then rubbed the back of his neck, staring. She unwrapped the candy and took a bite, looking at him with careful consideration.

"What?" Smabble said through a mouthful of cookies & crème. Dipper just shook his head, still smiling. Smabble swallowed, then said,

"Y'know, Alice almost figured out that we're . . . well, y'know."

"Uh huh. Sounds just like her. Don't worry, last week she tried hooking me up with Janet from the next office over. Too flashy, not exactly my kind of girl."

"Are you calling me unattractive unless I look like this?" Smabble said, gesturing to her outfit. She was, of course, feigning shock, but Dipper would always take things like this too seriously. His face fell, and he hurriedly responded,

"N-No, I was just saying that I don't usually. . . what I'm trying to say is that, um, well . . . ugh, words . . . not forming . . . sentences . . . y-you're beautiful is what I'm trying to want to say that . . ."

"Ho-kay, that's enough outta you, buddy boy!" said Smabble, giving Dipper another couple of pokes in the side to shut him up. He doubled over, as he was very ticklish there.

"No fair, why aren't you ticklish anywhere?"

"I'm just not ticklish, that's all there is to it."

"Urgh, one day, I'll get you to stop . . . someday."

"Good luck with that. I can do it with you all day, all night, every day!" Smabble said. She then had to pause to think back on what she had just said.

"Ignore that, please?" she said, blushing. Dipper snorted.

"I wasn't thinking anything. You're the one that said it, not me," he said.

Smabble, blushing brighter, responded with a series of pokes and tickles that left Dipper wheezing against the vending machine. She hurried out of the room, thankful that no one else was in the room to witness that.

* * *

The work day eventually wound its way to a close. Smabble was doing her best to avoid making eye contact with Dipper, partially out of embarrassment from what had happened in the break room. Good thing she had a mountain of work to keep her distracted, although Alice, who was gossiping about "Douglas Pines" in the next cubicle over, wasn't making things much better.

Half of the floor staff had left the office when Dipper sent a text to Smabble's phone, asking her to come to his office. She gathered her things, made her way over to his office door, and knocked twice. Hearing nothing, she turned the handle and stepped through the doorway. The door shut behind her, and immediately her vision was filled with darkness and screeching. An unknown figure had leapt out from behind the door and jumped onto her back, knocking her to the ground. She tasted what seemed to be hair in her face, and then realizing that it wasn't her own hair, she twisted around to see who was excitedly screaming from on top of her.

" _Mabel?!_ "

" _Smabble_! Ohmygosh it's been forever!" shouted Mabel Pines, who got up and pulled Smabble to her feet with little effort. She had forgotten how strong the female Pines twin was. Smabble pulled her into a huge embrace with lots of little jumps, then stepped back to give her a proper look-over. Mabel was decidedly a lot taller than she remembered, but her fashion sense certainly hasn't changed much. Maybe it was the sweater that bore the Eiffel Tower on it, or maybe it was the beret that she had on her head, adorned with every size and color of bedazzle gems.

"You're here! What happened to Paris?" Smabble asked her, grasping both of Mabel's hands. Mabel smiled.

"Huge success, as you've probably guessed. I'm taking the fashion world by storm, after all."

"Yeah, if by storm you mean a freaking shark-nado," said Dipper, from his desk.

"Can it, bro! This is Mabel and Smabble time," said Mabel, sticking her tongue out at her brother. Dipper groaned, going back to his computer. He was outnumbered here.

"So any-who, how have you been? My brother's been telling me that you applied here, and that you two are working together, and all kinds of other junk."

"Um, define junk?" Smabble asked nervously.

"Obviously, the fact that _you_ of all people are my bro-bro's S.O.!" Mabel said, throwing her hands into the air. Smabble and Dipper stared at her blankly.

"S-O? 'Significant Other'? Hello?" Mabel said, looking between the two.

"No? Seriously? Hey, would ya look at that, segways are weird, right? Haha, anyways. . ." said Mabel, flawlessly transitioning to a different topic to dodge the awkwardness. "How long's it been, you two?"

"Um, three weeks," said Smabble.

"We went out for coffee," said Dipper. "She kissed me first, in my car."

"We went to see movies and eat out at restaurants."

"And we've pretty much been doing what we did as kids, except . . . y'know, _together_ together," finished Dipper.

"Yeah," Smabble said.

"Sounds about right," said Mabel, grinning. "Have you guys gotten down to the frickle-frackle yet?"

"Excuse me?" said Smabble, thoroughly confused. Dipper, on the other hand, went wide-eyed and spat out a mouthful of coffee. Coughing, he shouted at Mabel,

" _Mabel!_ Why'd you ask _that_?!"

"What?" Mabel asked. "I mean, Dip, other than Wendy and Pacifica, Smabble was the only other girl who you showed any interest in. I mean, you didn't exactly do the whole list thingy or save her family from an evil ghost, but I always thought that the two of you were naturally meant for each other."

"Still, that doesn't mean that she and I have . . . well, y'know . . ." Dipper mumbled to his twin, hoping that Smabble didn't catch on. Unfortunately for him, Smabble had pretty good hearing.

"Wait . . . you don't mean . . ." she started. Dipper started waving his hands in front of him, trying to ward Smabble from her train of thought.

"No, it's not what you -"

But his words were lost under the sound of a muffled squeal, as Smabble had clamped a hand over her mouth, realizing the meaning behind Mabel's question.

" _We are NOT doing that!_ " she squeaked through the hand covering her mouth. "I mean, we're both adults and I guess we _could_ , but – no wait, wait WAIT forget I said anything!"

Dipper could have sworn that steam was coming out of her skin, while Mabel noted that she had gone so red that she looked almost sunburnt. Mabel immediately went to go comfort Smabble.

"I'm sorry, Smabble. I didn't mean anything bad by it, I was just curious, that's all," she said, putting her arms around her friend. Smabble wasn't mad – rather, she was more embarrassed and slightly intrigued by the fact that Dipper had shown interest in her back then, coupled with Mabel's question about whether she and Dipper had done it yet.

"Mabes, it's been only three weeks, you really think we'd rush into something like that?" said Dipper, saving Smabble from having to respond. "Plus, who said anything about us doing that?"

"Nothing, I said I was just curious, geez, bro."

Smabble took a few breaths to calm down her heart rate, then looked over at Dipper.

"Y-You were interested in me?"

"What?"

"Back then, like Mabel said. Other than those other two, you were interested in me?" She looked at Dipper, her cheeks still glowing.

"W-Well, Wendy wasn't interested in me to begin with, and Pacifica's nice once you get to know her, but we never really interacted too much for anything much to happen."

"Yeah, plus since I've been rooming with Pacifica in Paris, she's gone out and had a few boyfriends here and there. Nothing too serious though," added Mabel.

"Exactly. Plus, I'm your boyfriend now, Smabble. It's still taking me a bit to get used to say that, but I'm yours. I'm not going anywhere, not without you."

"So you have no problem making out with me every day, but you are still not used to calling yourself my boyfriend?" Smabble asked. Mabel giggled.

"Ooh-la-la! You have gotta spill the deets on _that_ , girlfriend! How's my brother's kissing skills?"

"Oh, my _GOD,_ I can't believe that I'm saying this to you, but _yes,_ your brother's an amazing kisser and I just can't believe that I've been able to do all this and -"

As if a switch was flipped, the girls went straight into their gossip-boy-talk mode, leaving Dipper to sit and groan, all but forgotten amongst chatter about his and Smabble's relationship.

* * *

Smabble convinced Dipper that Mabel should sleep over at her house that night. Mabel happily agreed, declaring it "Girl's Night." Dipper dropped Mabel off at Smabble's house around eight or so, and waved as he drove around the corner to his own apartment. Mabel started unpacking mounds upon mounds of sweaters before getting to the presents at the bottom of her trunk. Unwrapping the gift, Smabble gasped as she pulled out a tiny replica of the Eiffel Tower. Placing it on the mantle over the fireplace, she stepped back to admire the little statue. Mabel slung an arm over Smabble's shoulder, looking around the room.

"Nice place you got here. It's better than Dip's place, anyways."

"Hey, at least I attempt to clean Dipper's apartment whenever I get the chance. For someone who's OCD about a lot of things, his room apparently doesn't count in his mind."

"Hey, perfectionists tend to have messy rooms. And nobody's more perfectionist than my brother."

"I hear you there. Hey, so seriously, how're things going in Paris with you and Pacifica?" Smabble asked, plopping onto the couch. Mabel sat on the arm of the couch, leaning back on the cushion.

"Ugh, so much work maintaining a clothing empire. I mean, I thought it'd be easy starting up a small business, but I never thought that it's grow this much!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "I mean, I know the name _Mabel_ is supposed to mean 'beautiful, loving, or lovable,' but it's kind of hard to be lovable when you're stressed about your business 24/7."

"You got a start-up loan from Pacifica, didn't you?" Smabble asked. "What has she been up to?"

"Yeah, but I paid her back pretty fast once things took off," Mabel replied. "Paz taught me the basics of running a business, then went about maintaining her own businesses. French restaurants, different branches of her family's mud flap factory, a freaking circus?! I dunno how she does it all, and still has time to date cute French guys on the side."

"Aw. No action on your end, I'm assuming?" Smabble asked, drawing her knees up to her chest. She poked the only spot that Mabel was ticklish, in a specific spot near her armpit. Mabel immediately fell off the couch giggling.

"OOF," she exclaimed. "I _forgot_ that you knew where my tickle spot was! Geez, I could've died, Smae!"

"Sorry, force of habit from tickling Dipper all the time."

" _Someone's_ got a tickle fetish going on, eh _Susanna?_ "

"Shut up! And hey! Don't avoid the question!" Smabble threw a pillow in Mabel's direction.

"Alright, alright. Well, no, I haven't been able to find the time. I guess . . ." Mabel trailed off, laying back on the ground and looking towards the ceiling fan. "I guess I just haven't found the right guy yet."

She lifted her head a little, looking up at Smabble and grinning.

"Hey, enough about me, girl-friend! Your turn! Who was the one that asked who?"

"Well," Smabble said thoughtfully. "After that night when we, um, k-kissed, we went home and I more or less freaked out into my pillow – ugh don't laugh, I was just screaming into my pillow, dork! Anyways, he asked me out properly a few days later, and he was just *sigh* _adorable!_ "

"He is adorkable, isn't he?" said Mabel, grinning.

"Yeah, he was fumbling over his words, he was all nervous and kept shuffling his feet. He got the point across in the end."

"And your answer?"

"I called him a doofus, then I pulled him by the collar and kissed him."

" _Oooooh! Hot-DAMN!_ Smabble, what the heck-y happened to the shy, refined girl I once knew?"

"Puberty, acne, a brother that's over-protective, and staying on Netflix for too long. I am a changed Smabble," she said with all the dramatic flair of a soap opera star.

"Ooh, you have Netflix? Lemme get the remote, I want to re-watch that one episode of _Sherlock_ again!"

Smabble handed her the remote, and then watched as Mabel started flipping through the options on the screen. After finding the show she wanted, she stared at the buffering symbol in silence for quite some time before asking,

"Hey, Smabble, lemme ask you something."

"Go for it."

"What made you fall in love with my brother?"

"What?"

"You heard me. You told me how you two got together, what you guys have been up to, but it's always been something I was curious about. Was it back in our childhood days, was it something that happened over the years?"

Smabble grabbed a pillow and joined Mabel on the floor.

"Let's put it like this. You don't see a guy for like a year, and when he comes back he's totally different and somehow totally cuter than he was last year, but he's still the same dorky kid that you're friends with. He changed, and at the same time, he never changed. He got all handsome and muscular, and I stayed a potato. His voice got all deep and he grew that beard in that one summer, and I ended up getting horrible acne in high school that clashed with my freckles. I stayed behind . . . while he was out saving the world. Kind of hard not to fall in love with him after all that."

"Haha, yeah . . ." Mabel said, a little too quietly. "Try living with him through all that change . . ."

"Something the matter?"

"N-No, it's nothing. This will be filed under _super-personal_ in my Mind Palace, got it?"

"Seriously? It's just a show, that stuff doesn't even work."

"Yeah-too, it does work! Here, let me show you!"

And so the night dragged on. The shows filled the air with background noise as the girls chatted the evening away, swapping more stories and giggling at new gossip details. It's almost as if the slumber party from their childhood had never ended.


	4. Chapter 4 (NSFW)

_Gravity Falls - What's In A Name (A Dipper x Smabble fanfic) – Ch4_

* * *

 _This is purely experimental, and is not exactly how I plan to write all my stories from now on. That being said, I really enjoyed writing this, for obvious reasons. I plan on getting better at this once I get my style down. Without further ado, here's your trigger warning - [TW: Definitely NSFW]_

* * *

"Field work?"

"Yeah, I just thought it'd be nice for you to get out of the office, go on an adventure with me," Dipper said. He and Smabble were lounging on her couch, zoning out while watching the news. Dipper was lazily playing with a lock of Smabble's hair, wrapping it around his finger and letting it slide off. Smabble nudged him.

"What's this all of a sudden? You usually never ask anyone to come with you on 'field work.' You always say it's too dangerous, or that I can't handle it . . ." she said.

"I know, I know, I just . . ." Dipper thought carefully before replying. "I want you to come with me. Other than Mabel or my great-uncles, I would go on adventures with you and Shmipper all the time when we were younger. You've all seen the research that I'm involved in, so I'm positive that you'll be just fine."

"Yeah," said Smabble, still a little unsure. "But it's never been just you and me. We'd usually have Mabel or your great-uncle Stanford with us. Why just the two of us?"

"Because Mabel went back to Paris a month ago, and honestly, I just wanted someone to be there to keep me from being bored. You were my only option," Dipper grinned. Smabble rolled her eyes and focused her attention back to the TV screen.

"Hey, what'd I say?" Dipper asked her, poking her knee. Smabble stayed resolutely silent, ignoring her boyfriend. Frowning, Dipper kept nudging Smabble.

"You're gonna ignore me? Really?" He kept asking, to no response. Without warning, Smabble turned and pounced on him, knocking him onto his back on the sofa and tickling him with a lot more force than usual. It was less tickling and more jabbing with all her fingers at once. Dipper, having spent a lot of his free time with Smabble, now knew the best way to keep her in check. Freeing his hands, he grabbed her arms just above her elbows while sitting up. His reach was much longer than hers, so when she flailed her arms she couldn't reach his sides anymore.

"No fair! My arms are tiny!"

"Not my fault, I'm just bigger that way."

Smabble flailed uselessly.

"I'm a weak T-Rex. _Rawr!_ " she said in a defeated tone, flapping her arms.

"Hehe, you're a cute T-Rex, you know," Dipper grinned at her. He pinned her arms to her side and leaned forward, kissing her. Smabble pouted.

"Hmph."

"Hey, don't use that tone with me, missy. I'm still your boss at work, and if you're not careful, I'll be forced to punish you."

Smabble responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

"Bleh."

"You asked for it, hun," Dipper said. He leaned forward quickly, catching her tongue with his lips and sucking. Surprised, Smabble let out a soft moan before blushing and pulling back.

"Well now, what was that?" Dipper asked her, grinning.

"Nothing, nothing at all," said Smabble quickly, avoiding eye contact.

Keeping a steady grip on her, Dipper pulled her into a deep kiss. Unable to free her arms, Smabble was completely at his mercy. Dipper continued his onslaught of kisses, moving one hand from her arm up to the back of her head, caressing her gently. She moaned into his mouth, and as she did, her lips parted allowing Dipper's tongue to enter. She used her own tongue against his, and soon they were dancing around each other in her mouth.

At some point, he pushed forward and deepened the kiss just enough for Smabble to completely forget how to breathe, and then broke the kiss. Stars appeared in her vision as she gasped for air, focusing only on him.

"Oh wow," she breathed. He chuckled, lightly touching his forehead to her own.

"Love you too. Now then, about that field work?"

"Oh fine, you win. I'll go with you on your little 'expedition,' mister," Smabble said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "But I get dibs on which radio station we listen to in the car. Deal?"

"Deal," Dipper replied.

"Seriously though, you're an amazing kisser Dipper."

"Really? I don't exactly practice, you know."

"Well then you're a natural, and I'm glad that you're my teacher. You've been teaching me a lot ever since I started working with you."

"Yeah?" said Dipper, fully aware where this conversation was headed. "And what exactly did I teach you, Smae?"

"Get on top of me and let's find out."

Happy to oblige, he flipped them over so that he was now on top. Smabble, still a little woozy from the last kiss, smiled up at him and stroked the sides of his face with her hands before pulling his face down towards hers. As the two of them began making out again, one of Dipper's legs began working its way between Smabble's legs. Before too long, her legs were spread just enough for Dipper's leg to start rubbing against her through her sweatpants, causing her to moan even louder.

This was still relatively new territory for Smabble. She could never get used to someone touching her there, but that wasn't to say that she didn't enjoy it.

Smabble wrapped her legs around Dipper's leg, pushing her hips slightly upwards to apply more pressure to her sensitive spots. She could feel heat beginning to grow there as Dipper began grinding his leg faster against her. She was also aware of something else rubbing against her from between Dipper's legs, although her brain was too overwhelmed with pleasure for her to focus on it. One of Dipper's hands trailed its way up her torso, expertly sliding beneath her bra and squeezing her breast. His thumb began playing with her nipple, sending tiny electric shocks to her brain with each flick.

The combined stimulation eventually reached its peak, and with a stifled squeal, Smabble climaxed, her whole body shaking with each wave of her orgasm.

Dipper stayed on top of her, making sure that she was alright. Once she had calmed down a little, she giggled as the rush of endorphins subsided in her brain.

"I can *gasp* never quite get used to that feeling," said Smabble, still reeling from the shock.

"Glad you enjoyed it. Twelve-year-old you would be quite embarrassed by the current you."

"Oh noooooo, I'm such a bad girl, where did I go wrong?" Smabble wailed, hiding her red face in her hands.

"Well, for one thing, you got curious after Mabel asked if we'd done it yet, and then you asked me to help you 'experiment' in the name of science, and then one thing led to another and here you are, still a virgin, but having experienced several amazing orgasms, courtesy of yours truly," Dipper said with a wink. Smabble snorted and kissed his nose.

"Don't push your luck, Dip. I just don't want to jump head-first into sex. I want it to be special, after all. When it happens, it happens."

"Oh really? Then you don't mind if I . . .?" Dipper said, reaching for the waistband of Smabble's sweatpants. He slid them down and spread her legs once more. Maneuvering his hand and quickly finding her clitoris, he gave it an experimental nudge. Immediately Smabble's back arched, and she moaned so loudly that she had to bite down on the corner of a nearby pillow to keep her voice down. Dipper persevered, this time circling it faster, feeling Smabble start to grow wetter and wetter.

"No, wait, Dipper, wait, wait, wait, I'm too sensitive, I just ca-Ahhh!" Smabble moaned mid-sentence as Dipper inserted his middle finger slightly inside her slit. He curled his finger inwards, pushing it in and out. He inserted a second finger, causing Smabble to shudder with pleasure.

"Why does it – AHH – feel so goooood?" she squeaked into the pillow as Dipper pushed his fingers as far inside her as he could reach. His fingers brushed against her g-spot, and Smabble came almost instantly. She clamped her legs together as a new wave of pleasure washed over her, which only intensified the pressure from Dipper's fingers inside her. Just as soon as that orgasm finished, Dipper began pumping his fingers in and out of her. At this point, her body couldn't take any more of the pleasure, and she arched her back once more, causing Dipper's fingers to slide out as Smabble's next orgasm caused her to squirt all over the nearest couch cushion. Both of them breathed heavily as their blood pressure slowly returned to normal. Dipper's hand was absolutely drenched with Smabble's juices, as was the couch cushion. Smabble had never cum multiple times in a row like that, nor had she ever cum that hard in her life.

"Well *hah* I learned something new today," Dipper said, catching his breath.

"And what might that be?" Smabble asked, gasping.

"You're a squirter," he said, only to be smacked in the face with the pillow.

* * *

The following weekend, Smabble had all her things packed and ready for the upcoming trip. Dipper had brought the van around the corner, and they were now arranging filming equipment, sound recording devices, and other little gizmos that would be useful to them on the trip. A few of these were familiar to her, as she had seen Dipper or his great-uncle Ford use them on numerous occasions, but the rest of the gadgets were brand-new inventions or updated models.

Once everything was secured, they climbed into the front seats and began their long journey. True to his word, Dipper allowed Smabble to choose the radio station for the drive. She turned the dial carefully while considering her options, eventually settling on a throwback station playing hits from their childhood. Old boy bands, pop stars of the era, all songs that were familiar to the two, and even Dipper couldn't help but sing along with Smabble as she belted the choruses perfectly.

"Where did you learn how to sing, Smae?" Dipper asked her, putting on his turn signal and switching lanes.

"It's nothing, I just like singing in the shower, that's all. Shmipper complained and banged on the wall whenever I did that, so I just sang louder to annoy him."

"I see. Sounds like Grunkle Stan whenever I sang BABBA songs in the shower. He'd do something to the pipes and cause the water to go from warm to ice cold in a second."

"He'd flush a toilet?"

"Nah, he'd go into Soos's old break room and whack one of the pipes with his slipper. Instant ice bath. Worked better for him because he barely had to walk out of the living room to mess with me."

"Haha, oh wow!"

"Yup, he had his fun messing with me, so later that week I adjusted the living room so that all the furniture was one centimeter to the left. Wasn't a noticeable change to most, but he kept bumping into furniture and tripping over things and couldn't figure out why. Pretty funny, right?"

"Ummmmmm . . . meh," Smabble said, waving her hand in a _that's sort of okay_ kind of way.

"What? C'mon, I'm pretty funny!" Dipper argued. Smabble smiled at him. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"You're perfect, just . . . not funny."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Exactly. And since when do we make any sense whenever we have a conversation?"

"Good point."

The conversation continued in a similar manner, and the hours seemed to fly by without either of them realizing. They reached their destination by late afternoon, and set about lugging the equipment up to the cabin.

The cabin's second floor served as a lookout for Ford, and was filled with the latest gadgetry and surveillance equipment. The first floor served as the living quarters, and was just about as furnished as a five-star resort. Where Ford got the money for the equipment and the interior design was a mystery, although at one point Dipper found a stack of papers filled with a list of patents and inventions that Ford had sold to various buyers. Apparently, McGuckett wasn't the only one who had gotten rich off their inventions.

Smabble set about exploring the cabin's living quarters, and was stunned to find the kitchen fully stocked, just waiting for someone to cook something delicious. Dipper quickly set up the surveillance gadgets upstairs and came down to find that Smabble had already made food for them.

"Wow, someone's been learning," Dipper said, impressed with the amount of food Smabble had set on the table.

"We'd have huge amounts of relatives come over for dinner often, so Shmipper and I were sort of forced to learn to cook to help out our parents. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I love cooking, and I find it pretty calming. Shmipper's had his own fun, he'd go on all sorts of weird videos and find the craziest cooking techniques and test them out. They were actually pretty good, in all honesty."

"Impressive. Let's dig in!" Dipper sat down and immediately started filling his plate. Dinner passed by quickly as well, and there wasn't a single scrap of food left over.

"Oh man, that was really good, Smae!"

"Phew! I'm stuffed! I'm ready to shower and zonk out!" Smabble said, happily patting her stomach.

"You rest, I'll clean up," Dipper said, starting to pile up the dishes.

"Will do," she replied with a smile, making her way over to the living room. She started up the fireplace as Dipper started washing the various pots and pans that Smabble had used to make dinner. After all the dishes were put away, Dipper joined Smabble on the couch.

"Ahh, the fire feels amazing after all that water and dish soap!" Dipper said, stretching out his hands.

"I know, right? Living out in Gravity Falls for most of my childhood taught me lots of things," Smabble replied. "Of course, going exploring and finding monsters out in those woods with you also taught me a lot."

"Oh? Like what?"

"For one, don't forget to bring a map, and don't ever forget your compass made of enchanted magnets when hunting an echo fairy, otherwise they'll mess with your sense of direction."

"Hey! That was one time! It wouldn't fit in my backpack along with the steel butterfly net and-"

"Yeah, 'wouldn't fit.' Says the guy who owned a flashlight with a magic crystal on it that can _shrink_ stuff."

"That . . . is a fair point. Well played, my love."

"Score! One point for Smabble, zero for Dipper."

Dipper chuckled, putting his arm around her.

"Har-dee-har-har. I'll let you win this one time."

"You wish this was only the one time."

"Bleh," Dipper stuck his tongue out at her. Smabble smiled, and then suddenly leaned over and licked the tip of Dipper's nose.

"Ahh, ew, hey! What're you putting your tongue there for?"

"Noooo reason," Smabble replied, giving him a smug grin.

"At least put your mouth somewhere I'd enjoy," said Dipper.

"Oh what, like on your mouth?"

"That's an option."

"Very well," Smabble said. She kissed him on the corner of his mouth, in the same spot she had kissed accidentally so long ago. Dipper smiled at her. That smile was still the smile he's always had, the one that captured her attention when they were younger. A smile that assured her that everything would be alright. A smile that told her that she was safe wherever he was.

"Hey, when are we starting that 'field work' of yours?" she asked.

"The eclipse isn't until tomorrow night, so we don't really have anything else to do today."

"Good," Smabble said, pulling on the front of his shirt. Dipper fell forward her, and her lips connected with his. Smabble was on the offensive this time, her tongue forcing its way into Dipper's mouth. She suckled on his lower lip, and then his upper lip, and then kissing both at once.

"Where's . . . all . . . this . . . coming from?" gasped Dipper between kisses. Smabble sat up, looking him straight in the eye.

"Dipper, I love you," she said. "I love you, I need you, I want you, I . . . I just want to be with you."

Dipper stroked her cheek.

"And I love you. Honestly, truly. No one else."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Then will you do it with me?"

"Are you sure?"

"Those other times I stopped you, I felt . . . insecure . . . and nervous, but most of all, I wasn't ready. Well, I am now, so please . . ."

Smabble didn't finish her sentence, as Dipper began kissing her gently. He slowly began to pull at her jeans, and she reached down and unbuttoned them, pulling them down in one motion. He pulled off his own shirt and jeans, and helped pull her top off. She was wearing a plain tan bra with a clasp in the back. Dipper reached behind her and swiftly undid the clasp with one hand, and then watched as her breasts came free.

"Well now, sir, when did you learn to do that one-handed?"

"I watch a lot of how-to videos on the internet."

"No kidding, that was impressive. And veeeery sexy, I may add," Smabble drew out the sound, making Dipper shiver slightly.

"Haha, well, um . . . I'm ah . . .uh . . ."

"Shh," Smabble whispered. "Come here."

He climbed over her, placing a cold hand on one of her breasts. Her nipples began hardening in response to his touch. Her breathing grew more heavy as Dipper experimented, massaging her and caressing her skin. He gave one nipple a small lick, and she twitched. Growing more confident in his abilities, Dipper started sucking at her breast; first one, and then the other. Smabble began moaning, feeling the wetness starting to form between her legs. Using his free hand, Dipper began rubbing Smabble through her panties, causing her to cry out in pleasure. They were far from civilization, so Smabble was able to moan and squeal to her hearts content without having to worry about disturbing the neighbors.

"Dipper . . . Dipper please," she begged grasping at his hair. He looked down and saw how wet she had become.

"Are you absolutely sure?" he said. She reached down and immediately found the bulge in his boxers.

"Pretty sure," she said, giving his member a squeeze. A jolt went through Dipper's body. "If I wasn't, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be this turned on by now, Dip."

"Alright."

Smabble raised her lower half, allowing Dipper to pull her panties off. Her hand went straight between her legs, rubbing herself as Dipper took his boxers off and tossed them aside. He climbed on top of her and she guided him to her entrance. Dipper took his time teasing her, rubbing against her opening and her clit. She moaned as she began to grow more sensitive to his teases.

"Please, Dipper, please . . ." she begged between ragged breaths. Finally, Dipper answered by putting the head of his penis just inside her. Smabble let out a yelp.

"Are you okay?" Dipper asked, worried.

"I'm fine, just not . . . used to it just yet . . ."

"We can stop if you-"

"I can keep going, just . . . please . . ."

"Stop me if you need to," Dipper said, applying a little more pressure. He slowly entered her, sliding easily thanks to her juices. Soon, he had reached her hymen, and by this point Smabble had already cum twice due to her being so sensitive.

"What should I-?" Dipper asked, but Smabble, just barely reaching the threshold of another climax, took matters into her own hands. She wrapped both legs around him and squeezed, causing him to thrust all the way inside her. Smabble let out a scream, the pleasure from her third orgasm overriding the pain.

They both gasped, and then Dipper, seeing that she seemed fine, started to gently thrust in and out. It was a feeling that could only be described as pure pleasure. Her walls, slick with fluids, aided in his thrusts, and with each push Dipper felt her tighten around him. Smabble's head was up in the clouds, as each thrust filled her up and caused her to moan and squeal loudly. Dipper's hips eventually sped up, and Smabble's pleasure meter began skyrocketing. She pulled him down into a kiss, rolling her lower half against him, causing him to moan back into her mouth.

"Smae, I-"

"Yeah, AAH . . . yeah do it harder!"

Dipper began to move in and out with a greater intensity, causing her mind to go white and her screams to escalate. The only things registering was the immense pleasure she was feeling, and the feeling of her lips against his.

"I'm gonna-"

"Me too! Ahh! Faster!" Smabble moaned. "Faster, I'm gonna . . ."

Dipper thrust into her one final time. Her head pushed against the cushion as she came with such intensity that each spasm caused her to repeatedly tighten like a vice around his penis. This in turn brought so much stimulation to Dipper that he came as well, shooting a warm liquid deep inside her. Smabble ground her hips against his as he came, squeezing as much as she could out of his member.

Finally, their breathing slowed to a normal pace. Dipper staying inside her while kissing her.

"So . . . um . . ." he said nervously. "That was . . ."

"Amazing," Smabble said. She twitched slightly as Dipper leaned back up.

"I'm still . . . ah! Super sensitive!" Smabble breathed. Dipper grinned, and then started moving slowly. He may not have been fully erect, but it was just enough to get her to moan.

"I think I'm really exhausted at this point, hun," Smabble said, giving him another kiss. He slowly pulled out of her, causing a small gasp as the head brushed against her g-spot on the way out.

"Same here. Hey, let's sleep down here tonight. The fireplace should stay lit."

"I'd love that."

Dipper found one of their blankets, and they cuddled beneath it, holding each other in their arms. Smabble squeezed his hand, giving some thought before saying,

"Don't ever leave me, Dip?" Smabble asked. He smiled at her, and then buried his face into her hair, taking in a big breath full of her scent.

"Only if you don't ever leave me," Dipper replied.

Fatigue got to them in the end, and they fell asleep as the fireplace filled the room with its warm glow. Smabble dreamed of Dipper, of the scene that had just transpired in this room, of warm summers and of windy evenings. She smiled in her sleep, fully covered by him and fully at peace.


	5. Chapter 5

Smabble awoke to the smell of something burning. She sat upright, pulling a nearby blanket in front of herself. The fire alarm started blaring, followed by the sound of a fire extinguisher being sprayed.

"Shit!" came a voice from the kitchen. Smabble got up and ran to the kitchen to find Dipper, holding a smoking frying pan in one hand and the fire extinguisher in the other. Smabble used the blanket she was holding to fan air at the fire alarm while Dipper ran to open the nearest window. Finally, after a few agonizing minutes, the alarm finally stopped.

"Phew. Thanks, Smae," Dipper said, collapsing into a nearby chair.

"What were you trying to make?" Smabble asked, wrapping the blanket around herself.

"It was supposed to be . . . bacon," Dipper said. "I made eggs earlier and figured we'd use some of the bacon in the fridge, but . . ." He trailed off, glancing at the frying pan, which was sitting on the stove. The stove vents were on full blast in an attempt to get rid of the smell of burnt bacon.

"I see," Smabble said. "Well, I saw some bread on the counter earlier; why don't you just make some egg sandwiches while I go shower. For some reason, I feel very sticky."

Smabble winked at him, and Dipper smiled back.

"Huh. I wonder why that is," he said. Smabble smacked him on the shoulder, and they both laughed. She pecked him on the cheek and sauntered off to the bathroom. Letting out a huge sigh, Dipper went to the sink and started to scrub the burnt bits off the frying pan.

* * *

After breakfast, Dipper went and took a much-needed shower while Smabble washed dishes. Emerging from the bathroom ten minutes later, Dipper stood in the kitchen doorway, watching her work.

"You know, you look really beautiful," he said.

"I know. You tell me all the time," Smabble said. He walked closer and hugged her from behind.

"I still can't believe we actually did that last night," said Dipper. He kissed her cheek, and she smiled, eyes still focused on the dishes.

"So much for this being just 'field work,' right?" Smabble said, reaching back and flicking water in his face.

"H-Hey! I just showered," he laughed, which prompted her to scoop up a handful of soap suds and splashing his face with it.

"And now you're twice as clean," she said, wiping off her hands and placing them on her hips. Dipper's cheeks and nose were covered in bubbles.

"Hah hah, very funny," he said sarcastically, using an arm to wipe his face off. He leaned forward to kiss her, but she stopped him with a finger to his lips.

"Nope, you had your fill of kisses and other stuff last night. No more for now."

"Aww . . ."

"Don't you 'Aww' me, mister. You said it yourself: the eclipse doesn't happen until tonight, meaning today's all business. Maybe after we finish with your little mission, we can have some fun. Deal?" Smabble asked, holding out her hand.

"Fine, deal. But I get to do whatever I want," Dipper said, glancing down at Smabble's shirt. She wasn't wearing a bra, so the outline of her nipples could be seen.

"As long as I can do whatever I want," Smabble said, winking. Dipper smiled.

"Deal."

* * *

Dipper and Smabble went up to the surveillance room on the second floor of the cabin. Dipper turned on the series of machines, lightning up the dark room with a green glow.

"Remind me again what we're supposed to be chasing?" Smabble said as Dipper started to spread his notes on the table. She leaned over his shoulder to read one of the articles. "Grow-g . . . Gow - g, wait . . . what?"

"It's spelled 'Gowrow', though Grunkle Ford never really confirmed which pronunciation of 'row' was correct."

"Right. Um, what exactly is it?"

Dipper pointed to a corner of the table. Smabble went around and picked up the photograph. Dipper continued his lecture:

"The Gowrow are described as being 'creatures twenty feet in length with two tusks, large webbed feet ending in claws, a row of short horns along its back, and a long thin tail with a blade on the end', but there was never an official sighting reported by the authorities. It apparently makes a sound similar to its name, and it preys on local livestock. It's said to be lightning fast, and near impossible to capture with a gun or a net."

"Okay," said Smabble. "So if it's preying on livestock, why are we up on the mountains?"

"There have been reports coming in from the surrounding villages of their cattle being slaughtered, so I suspect that its dwelling is somewhere on this mountain," said Dipper, marking several locations on a map of the mountain. "We need to set up a trap, catch it, and send it to Grunkle Ford's monster laboratory in Gravity Falls."

"Wait, you said it's 'lightning fast,' so how are we even supposed to capture it."

"With these," replied Dipper, tossing a plastic bag at her. She caught it and looked inside.

"Dried apples?" Smabble asked, looking confused.

"Turns out, there was one recent report that stood out from the rest. A con man claimed to have captured a gowrow by feeding it too many dried apples, causing them to swell in its stomach and rendering it immobile. He then wanted to charge an entrance fee for tourists, and then make this big show about it 'escaping,' thus causing the tourists to panic."

"Don't tell me..."

"Yup, that was Grunkle Stan. According to his records, he actually did catch one using dried apples, but it escaped after the gowrow digested all of them and broke out of its cage. Stan used the busted cage and the apple remnants to scam tourists for a few years after that."

"No way. How did he even get it to sit still?"

"Dunno, something about leaving the apples out, and it just walked up to him and ate them. He even got to pet it a few times before it started pigging out on apples."

"Your uncle has this weird affinity for animals, doesn't he?"

"Between the death omen dog, the Mayor-picking eagle and the weird cat that would burst into flames at random moments, I'd say that Grunkle Stan is just really good with animals."

"I see. So we're just going to be hiking around the woods with bags of dried apples, hoping that it's come out and eat them?"

"Um...yes...?" said Dipper. She stared at him.

"What?" he asked her.

"You could have done this yourself, you know."

"True, but it's been forever since we went on a mission together, and, I don't know, I wanted to re-live some of those moments. It's where you and I first bonded, after all." Dipper smiled, taking her hand.

"Fine, you win this time, dork," Smabble said, smiling back. "But this time, I do the monster-catching. You got to catch the last one back in Gravity Falls, so it's my turn to shine."

"Once again, you drive a hard bargain. Fine, deal, anything to make you happy, Smae."

"What's that grin for?"

"What grin? I'm not grinning! Nope, no grin here."

"Move your hand, you weirdo, you're definitely smirking. You don't think I can do it! You think I've gotten rusty, that I'm just a desk girl and can't handle myself."

"I was definitely not thinking that, but now that you mention it..." Dipper grinned. Smabble smacked his shoulder.

"Watch this desk girl transform back to her monster-hunting glory," she said. She pecked his nose and sashayed downstairs. Dipper watched her hips sway as she descended the steps. He glanced down at his notes.

Well, let's hope you're ready for this, Smabble, Dipper thought. He packed up his papers and stuffed them into a folder, then followed her down the staircase.

* * *

Two hours later, Dipper and Smabble were still wandering the woods. They stopped several times at some streams to fill their bottles using a filter that Ford invented, and munched on packs of trail mix that Smabble prepared beforehand.

"Are we there yet?" Smabble asked.

"You've been purposefully asking that question just to annoy me. No, we're not there yet," Dipper said, glancing down at his wrist. Grunkle Ford's powerful scanners were broadcasting from the cabin to a receiver on Dipper's custom-built watch. Ford wanted to add antennas and a satellite dish that unfolded at the push of a button, but Dipper was against it, saying that the antenna would break easily if he was running through obstacles.

"I'm not annoying, I'm adorable!" she said, pouting. She made a cute pose and tried acting adorable. Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you're adorable," he said, checking the coordinates on his watch for the fifteenth time. "You wanna take a break here?"

"Sure. Got more of those sandwiches in your backpack?"

"They're somewhere in here. Let me check . . ." Dipper said, putting the plastic bag he was holding on a nearby stump. As soon as the bag hit the stump, it promptly disappeared from existence.

"Wait, hold on, that did not just happen!" shouted Smabble, looking around wildly to see where it disappeared to.

"Hold on, there's no way that it just disappeared. It can't be molecular deconstruction; Grunkle Ford proved that to be scientifically impossible seven times. It can't be that, unless . . ."

"The gowrow! It's supposed to be lightning fast, right?" said Smabble. "If it ate the dried apples in that bag, it should be slower!"

"You're right! Smabble! Your bag!"

"Right!" shouted Smabble. She tossed her bag of dried apples into the air. With a sudden booming noise, a nearby bush exploded as a visible blur shot out of it. With a loud growl, the blur connected with the airborne bag and disappeared into the trees to the south of them.

"After it! It should be slower by now!" shouted Dipper, running in the direction of the creature. Smabble ran close behind, trying to keep the camera steady without tripping over anything. Finally, they made it to a small clearing, where a low rumbling could be heard from behind a giant oak tree.

"*Hah* finally!" wheezed Dipper, collapsing onto the grass.

"Running was so not your strong point," laughed Smabble, getting a shot of Dipper catching his breath.

"Har dee har har," said Dipper sarcastically. He clambered to his feet. "Thank goodness the apples are working perfectly."

"Seems like it," Smabble replied, zooming in on the shape of the creature poking its head around the tree trunk. While it was mostly dragon-like in appearance, a part of its snout almost resembled that of a naked mole rat crossed with a saber-tooth tiger, and completely covered in scales. "It doesn't look like the drawings you showed me. Different species, or cross-breeding with other dragons?"

"Hmm," said Dipper. The two of them stayed a good distance away from the creature in case its bladed tail wasn't affected by its apple snack. "Seems to be an older specimen, although it's kind of hard to tell."

"Well, let's ask it!" said Smabble, walking closer to the gowrow. Dipper was about to hold her back, but he remembered that Smabble and Mabel were the fearless ones back in the day. Holding her back now would probably cause her to not talk to him for the rest of the night. Still, to be safe, he kept a hand on the safety of the mini stun gun in his side holster.

"Be caref-"

"AWWWW SHE'S SO ADORABLE!"

"Wait . . . what?"

Dipper walked over to the tree to find the beast, rolled over onto its belly. Smabble was energetically rubbing the gowrow's tummy, causing its tail to wag. Dipper had to duck as the wagging bladed tail sliced one of the branches off the tree.

"The heck?"

"Aww, you just wanted some attention, didn't you? Didn't you, you big adorable doodle, you!" Smabble cooed, rubbing harder. The gowrow grunted happily. "Wow, Dip. She's very energetic for a monster that's supposedly placated by apples."

"Huh. Guess Stan's story was a bit off. Wonder wha – hey! Wait a second! You said 'she'! How in the world can you tell that it's a she?!"

"Oh I dunno, maybe that?" said Smabble, pointing at the tree. Dipper looked where she was pointing. Through the branches Dipper could see a very large nest resting amongst the leaves. Tiny scaled faces curiously peered over the edge, looking slightly drowsy.

"Babies! Oh, well, that's . . . that's amazing! Not only did we discover its home, but we've discovered its children as well! She was collecting apples to feed to her babies. Smae, are you getting all this on film?"

"Pssh. Got it covered, man. Although, knowing you, you'll probably edit the whole thing so that no other humans can find this spot."

"That's the plan, hun. You know me so well."

"Yeah, and knowing you, you probably had your safety off on that little stun thingy in your belt. Am I right?"

"Yes . . ."

"Another point for the Smabble team!"

"A team consisting of you and only you."

"Precisely! I'm captain, co-captain, and associate co-captain at the same time!"

"Still never gonna let go what happened on the lake, are you?"

"Not on your life, bucko!"

"Well," said Dipper, standing up. "I think we've accomplished our mission for the day. Dinner's on me!"

"We're in the woods, genius, we're not spending any money either way."

"Fair point. But, Mabel did in fact teach me how to make a mean fish stew, and a version of Mabel Juice that's non-alcoholic, non-lethal, and free of plastic."

"Ooh, fish. Better save me an eyeball. Anyways, Dipper," said Smabble, putting her camera away. "What'll we do about these guys?"

"I say we do the same thing my Grunkle did all those years ago," said Dipper, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out all the packs of dried apples and tossed them to the base of the tree. The gowrow mother stabbed one of the packs with her tail and started feeding bits of dried apple to her babies.

"Bye bye! Have a safe time! Don't terrorize the town too much!"

"Smabble."

"Okay, fine," she said, pouting. The mother roared in appreciation and went back to feeding her children.

"That was fun," said Dipper, taking Smabble's hand. She squeezed back.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling at him. "Such a happy ending."


	6. Chapter 6

Smabble hummed happily along to the song playing through the speakers as the van bounced and rocked on the bumpy road.

"Is this _Defying Gravity_? I used to love listening to that song," said Dipper. Their adventure over, Dipper and Smabble were headed back home after a long week. Their gowrow adventure certainly revealed a lot more about the creature than they originally anticipated, but Dipper considered this a victory. The gowrow turned out to be a lot less harmless than he thought, thanks to Smabble's uncanny ability to befriend most beasts.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we watched that musical. Remember? You used to sing along to the girls' parts?"

"I had an unnaturally high voice for a twelve-year old. I can barely hit these notes anymore."

"Oh yeah? Try it out here. The chorus is coming up!"

"Smabble, I'm driving, I don't think that -"

Smabble responded by turning the volume up a couple of notches. Dipper sighed, and then attempted to sing along.

" _So if you care to find me, look to the western skyyyy_ ," Dipper tried, but his voice cracked a few words in.

"Geez, that lady has such a high range," he gasped, out of breath. Smabble giggled.

"You're cute, trying to hit those high notes. Where's the cute sweaty kid I used to know that could harmonize perfectly with every song in Wicked?" she asked, poking his cheek. Dipper switched lanes, exiting off the mountain road towards the highway.

"That kid's gone. Puberty hits hard, and it certainly leaves you a changed man."

"I'll say. You've definitely grown," Smabble said, eyeing Dipper's jeans. Dipper sensed her plans, and batted away the hand that was inching towards his zipper.

"Nope, not right now, I'm driving."

"Aww, please?"

"No. Do you want us to crash? I may be a safe driver, but I'm not gonna risk anything."

"Fine…you win…" Smabble pouted. She pulled out her phone, snapping a photo of Dipper from the side.

"H-Hey!"

"Too late, new phone background."

"Smae, you change your background to a different picture of me every month. You're bound to get bored of staring at my face all the time."

"Nope," said Smabble. She put one hand on his shoulder. "I can sit and study you for hours at a time."

"Sounds kind of boring."

"Is not!"

"So, so very boring!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Wanna bet?" said Dipper. His eyes glinted as he glanced Smabble's way.

"What?"

"Stare at my face for the rest of the car ride. Prove to me it's not boring."

"Deal," said Smabble. She twisted her body until she sat facing Dipper, sitting almost cross-legged in the passenger seat.

"You look away, you lose. You stay staring, you win."

Smabble proceeded to stare at Dipper's face with such intensity that she almost seemed mad. Dipper waited, and then when the song playlist shuffled again, he found his chance. The song Popular came on, and he launched his plan into action.

" _Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I_ ," he sang, adding extra drama and cheesiness. " _And let's face it, who isn't less fortunate than I_?"

Smabble snorted. Dipper kept going.

" _Popular. You're gonna be popular!_ " Dipper put as much sass and stereotypical white-girl tone as he could into his singing. " _I'll teach you the proper poise when you talk to boys, little ways to flirt and flounce! Ooh!_ "

As planned, he ended the stanza by unexpectedly letting out a squeak that matched the singer's own delighted squeal in the song. That was too much for Smabble, who ended up dissolving into a giggling mess in the seat.

"Ha! You turned away! That means I win!" said Dipper, proudly.

"Heyyyyyy no fair!" said Smabble loudly between giggles. "I didn't think you could still make noises like that. I was thrown off-guard."

"All's fair in the world of musical theater."

"No faaaaaair!"

"Totally faaaaaair!"

* * *

The next week at work, the whole office was bustling. The interns were all shuffling about, getting coffee for the writers and helping out with projects. Dipper and the other head writers were in a conference meeting with their superiors, discussing the latest stories of the week. Smabble, as Dipper's intern, was allowed to sit in on the meeting.

"Shabazz's numbers are at their record highest," said the CEO of the company. "I'm extremely proud of everyone's efforts. I'd like to personally thank Douglas Pines over there for his last-minute article submission. We got some feedback and we're pleased to hear that people are enjoying the piece on the mysterious gowrow."

"Thanks, sir. No big deal," said Dipper. The other head writers applauded. Smabble could tell that they were genuinely congratulating him, rather than being jealous. Dipper not only writes his own articles, but because of his experience with journaling, he also contributes in terms of editing, traditional and digital art, and general research as well as working on his own writing. The only reason he asked for an intern to be hired was because so many people were requesting his help at once.

"No, but honestly, how exactly do you come up with this kind of material? Research? Mythology? You didn't steal this article didja? Hahaha, nah just kiddin' bucko," the boss chuckled.

"Well…to be honest, sir, I had a little bit of help with writing this one," said Dipper. He placed his hand on Smabble's shoulder, causing her to tense up.

"Susanna here helped me out with field research, as well as writing and proofreading the article. She's got some history with mythological creatures as well."

Smabble looked at Dipper with a mix of emotions: partially happiness, as she wanted him to praise her more; partially terror, as he was putting her on the spot in front of the best of the best in the company.

"Oh really," said the head of the Digital Arts department. "How cool! Sue, you should write your own article!"

"Wonderful idea. Miss Cedar," said th CEO. "If you're partially responsible for this amazing article, then the company would definitely love to read your work as well."

"I-I-I'm not sure…um, I mean…I can try and submit something, sir," Smabble stumbled. Dipper squeezed her shoulder slightly. She took a steadying breath and said,

"I won't let you down, sir. Thank you for the amazing opportunity."

"I'm looking forward to it. You put in the work, turn in something amazing, and you can consider yourself a full-time writer on the team."

"F-Full time! Ah, I m-mean, t-thank you, sir!" Smabble said hastily. She stood up and bowed instinctively. The room became filled with laughter. Smabble's face became red.

"Ah, Doug, I think you've snagged yourself a fine woman for your department. Don't lose her, we need someone with her kind of energy on the board with us. Alright, meeting dismissed, everyone, we have things to do, papers to publish."

The room slowly emptied out. Dipper and Smabble made their way back to Dipper's office.

" _Why the heck did you just do that?!_ " whispered Smabble. "That completely came out of nowhere! I didn't expect you to put me on the spot like that!"

"To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should have done that. Technically, I had been meaning to bring it up with my boss, but I wanted to see how the article turned out."

"Well, you could have warned me, geez," she said. She wiped her brow with her sleeve. "I was so nervous, I ended up bowing for no reason."

"Hey, don't sweat it, I'm giving you an amazing opportunity to break into the journalism world."

"I know, but still. Now I need to write an amazing article about any topic I want. And if it's not to their standards, then I'm just going to be stuck as an intern forever…"

"No you won't. You'll have plenty of opportunities in this company. The boss is a very forgiving man, so he'll give you more chances to prove yourself."

"Well, better to do it right the first time around, then. That way I won't waste his time, and I can get the job as fast as possible," said Smabble. She looked down at the clipboard in her hands. The notes from the day's meeting barely registered with her as she stared at a single bullet point she had written down.

 _What do I write about?!_

"Dipper?"

"Yes?" he replied, fishing into his pockets for his office key.

"Do you really think I can do it?" Smabble asked. Her hands trembled as she gripped the clipboard. "I mean, I'm only an intern. I may have been top of my class in school, but school's just so different from real journalism. There's so much more to do, so much more freedom but at the same time, more restrictions. Plus, the entire world could potentially see my writing, and even if the boss likes it, people may not, and…and…and…"

"Smabble!"

"Ah?" she said, stopping her rant mid-sentence. Dipper turned to face her and lifted his hands to her cheeks.

"You'll be just fine. I guarantee it," he said, putting both hands on her face and using his thumbs to wipe away the tears in the corner of her eyes.

Smabble leaned her head into his palms, sniffling slightly.

"I trust you to do the best you can with the story. Don't stress about it. If you need me for anything, just ask and I'll help you. Don't hesitate to ask for help."

"I know. I'm not ten anymore, dummy. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

"That much, I know. Seeing as you're the one that approached monsters without much of a second thought."

"Wasn't that Mabel as well?" Smabble asked.

"True, my sister is reckless, charges in headfirst and never thinks about her own safety. But remember, you're the one that looked up to her as a kid, so some of her recklessness rubbed off on you."

Smabble smiled.

"Don't test me, Pines. Remember who wears the pants in the relationship."

"Sassy, much, aren't you?" Dipper grinned.

"I'm not sassy, I'm just telling it as it is. It's not my fault the truth hurts," Smabble said with a giggle.

"Har har har, c'mere you little sassy Sue," Dipper said, pulling Smabble closer. Smabble kissed him slowly and deeply, breaking the kiss after a few seconds. The sound of a gasp could be heard from down the hall. Smabble peeked through one eye. One of the interns was peering around a corner, but Smabble didn't have much time to think about anything else as Dipper pulled her into his office. Her article could wait for now. Smabble and Dipper had their own research session to take care of.

* * *

"Susanna May Belle Cedar," came a voice from just outside her cubicle. Smabble looked up from her computer screen to find her friend Alice standing in the doorway.

"What's up, Alice? Need something?" she asked, pausing the relaxing ocean sounds playlist on her laptop.

"Yes, I need something," Alice said. She crossed her arms. "Word around the office is that a certain someone is getting quite intimate with a certain famous writer."

Smabble gulped. Word definitely got around quickly. After their little "session" in Dipper's office, Smabble quietly snuck out of the office and headed home on the bus. She managed to avoid getting stopped and questioned by any of her co-workers, but she silently reprimanded herself for not thinking ahead and stopping Dipper from kissing her until they were inside his office.

"Um, what is the word, exactly?" Smabble asked nervously.

"Quite a lot, actually. For one, Mary came to me saying that she saw you and Douglas Pines in the hallway, making out and going into his office. Gerry's been telling anyone who will listen that he saw you and Douglas walking out of the nearby coffee shop several times this month, and Betty swears that the two of you had been holding hands when Douglas drives you home. So, care to explain any of these claims?"

"Er….um…well, funny story about that…"

"How is this funny? This is potentially the biggest piece of gossip that the office has had ever since Robert 'Burger Pants' Mendez came to that Halloween party and started making out with Ginger Hales in the kitchen. Sue, you can tell me, can't you?"

Alice clasped her hands together, pulling what she believed to be a puppy-dog face. Smabble sighed, then pulled over a chair so that the two of them could sit face-to-face.

"Alright, so this is what's been going on…"

Smabble left out Dipper's real name, but gave her friend a synopsis of their relationship. The summers in Gravity Falls, the monster hunts, the childhood crushes and the events that transpired once she joined the office.

"Whoa, crazy how the boy you loved grew up to be such a famous hunk," Alice remarked.

"Hunk or no, I'm just surprised that you're taking this as well as you are. I figured the whole 'monster hunt' portion would freak you out or confuse you."

"Hun, have you seen the state of the fourth floor girls' bathroom? I've seen horrors in the third stall that would make a demon puke."

"Fair point."

"Still though, it's insane that Douglas would fall for you, and that you'd somehow end up getting the boy you've loved since childhood. And you're still an intern. Some of the girls here have been crushing on him ever since he joined, and you swoop in and take him just like that!"

"Wouldn't you technically be a part of the 'jealous' crowd as well?" Smabble asked, giving her friend a confused look.

"Aw, Sue, you're so cute and innocent. Famous researcher or not, if that man doesn't give me the time of day, I drop any and all crushes like that. Better to be with someone who treats me like I exist and pays attention to me, rather than locking himself in his office all the time and going on those weird 'business trips' to study some spooks and ghouls."

"I guess…"

Alice chuckled, and then patted Smabble's shoulder.

"You'll be fine. If anyone tries to give you any shit for stealing Douglas away from them, send them my way. Don't let rumors or hate get to you. They're just words."

"I'd feel sorry for anyone that has to deal with your bad side, Alice," Smabble giggled.

"You know it, girl! Sometimes I feel like stupid people are like glow sticks. I wanna snap them and shake the shit out of them until the light comes on," Alice said matter of factly. Smabble went from giggles to fully laughing.

"That's why we're friends," she said.

"You know it! Okay, I gotta get back to my work. You owe me a movie night this week."

"Deal. See you later, Alice."

"Bye!"

Smabble returned to her computer, smiling.

* * *

Smabble called up Mabel that night at home.

"She said _what_ now?" Mabel snorted. Smabble shifted her phone to the other side of her head and leaned back in her bed.

"I know, right? She's such a sassy person, but she's the best friend I've had in a long time," Smabble said. She shuffled some papers around on her bed. "I'm just thankful that she's on my side. If I managed to piss her off, I'd probably get torn in half socially and physically."

"Sounds like me when I was younger," said Mabel wistfully. "I used to be such a little rebel, going against gender tropes, fighting gnomes and unicorns, and shooting my enemies with a grappling gun. Well, I still have the thing in my purse just because. Makes for a good scare tactic when some idiot tries to jump me in an alley."

"And how exactly did you get into said alley?" asked Smabble.

"You know, my usual. Dumpster exploring, finding stuff for new crafts projects and the like. Strange how a robber would target someone that has been swimming in garbage for half an hour."

"I wouldn't even try and get near you in the first place."

"Dipper gave me an earful when I told him what happened. He's such a worrywart, especially when it comes to me getting hurt."

"Well, he's your brother. I'm sure he loves you and cares for you that he wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you," said Smabble, winding a strand of hair around her finger. "He certainly didn't want anything bad to happen to me on our little field trip the other week."

"Oh yeah, how did that go? I read the article," said Mabel. Smabble could hear small industrial sounds coming from Mabel's side, and assumed that Mabel was working on another crafts project in her room.

"Okay, don't tell Dipper I told you this. Promise?"

"I promise, Smabbs. What's up? Dipper tell you about the unusual birthmark on his butt?"

"No, I – what?"

"Just messing with ya. C'mon, tell meeeeee!"

"Okay, well…Dipper and I…well we…we…"

"We…?"

"He and I, we, um, we had s-s-s-"

" _SEX?!_ WHOA WHOA, wait, you mean to say you're not a virgin anymore?"

"Yes…"

"…"

"Mabel?"

Smabble listened for a while, but Mabel seemed lost in thought, seemingly fixated on whatever she was making. After a few minutes, she finally spoke up.

"How was it?"

"Oh? It was…not at all entirely what I expected, but…it was the best experience I've ever had in my life."

"Almost magical?"

"Pretty much. Dipper made me feel safe, made me feel like I was floating on clouds, and yet at the same time I was feeling lightning coursing through my body."

"Did he make you super sensitive and super wet, started slowly and gently, and then started going rougher? He came inside you for your first time, and then kept trying to move after you became too sensitive?"

"I - yeah, that's almost exactly what happened. How'd you know?"

"You think I have twin telepathy or something? Nah, I just have an eerily accurate knowledge of Dipper's internet history. I have an idea of what he's into."

"You know, he did mention something about learning from how-to videos," Smabble said thoughtfully. There was a pause before Mabel responded.

"Yeah, that's probably the case…hey, I need to focus on this project for the next deadline. Any chance I can call again next week?"

"Sure thing. Don't overwork yourself, Mabel. Need you alive so that we can plan our next hangout."

"Yup, yup. Alright, night, Smabble."

"Night," said Smabble, hanging up the phone. She tossed her phone onto her pillow and sat up, rummaging through her notes. Something that Mabel said sparked an idea that she had written down.

 _Twin telepathy_. Telepathy, the brain, memory, mind control, levitation, ESP, and the idea that twins can hear each other's thoughts. A blend between fantasy and science that could possibly make for a very interesting topic. But where to start?

Smabble sighed, tossing the papers aside and pulling her laptop towards her. There, on her e-reader application on her desktop, was a book series that she had purchased to read in her spare time. She had almost forgotten that she even owned the set, but if her hunch was correct, there was a deeper meaning that could potentially be huge.

" _Moonwalking with Einstein. How to Unlock Your Brain's Full Potential. Sherlock Holmes, the Supernatural Supergenius,_ " Smabble read the titles out loud. There was a lot of potential, but nothing jumped out at her. She stopped at a very odd-looking e-book that seemed different than the others. A simple cover with a castle and a large eye hanging over it.

" _Putting Science and Magic Under One Roof._ "

"Huh, don't remember seeing this in the listing when I bought the set."

She flipped to the first page and read out loud:

" _Is there a hidden magic behind how our brain works? We don't use even half of what our brains are capable of accomplishing, so what is our body trying to hide from us? Is there a hidden potential that can be unlocked and used freely, or a sort of supernatural power that transcends our earthly limits? This book will attempt to expand your horizon and teach you to discover a power you never knew you had_."

Smabble read the introduction eagerly. This was definitely something that fit the genre of Dipper's division of supernatural journal articles, and in this day and age, people seem to be becoming more interested in the strange and the unexplained. She got to the end of the article, and shuddered as the book left one final warning:

 _Be warned. This is not for the faint of heart. Once you have a taste of the power of the brain, it'll be very hard to escape. Prepare to test your brain, expand your prowess, discover new and amazing powers, and most of all, give yourself an unlimited memory capacity._

 _Welcome to the Mind Palace._


End file.
